"Are those mana cannons?" Low Elder Kostic pointed to a store they passed on their way to the arena.
Cai Bo's eyes narrowed as she cast an identification spell.
"They are, but there are bands of formations around the barrel. I think those adjust the power of the cannon's attack and how fast it shoots. Few people are willing to sell such strategic weapons as sects mostly make them and hold them internally. Vuzgal must be really fearless to sell these to outsiders. There might be a flaw in them. I would suggest buying a defensive amulet. The seller has to prove their effectiveness. You can find a lot of powerful defensive gear here that one can hide on their person."
The convoy continued towards the Battle Arena. More people filled the streets. Restaurants and taverns were filled up with people talking about the different groups and fighters that would be making an appearance.
Cai Bo's convoy reached the Battle Arena. With quick commands, groups of fighters of varying levels separated from the convoy and headed to be registered for the competition.
They had brought over elites from the fortieth to the sixtieth level.
With this we will show the other forces that if they wish to attack us, they will need to pay a heavy price. Our Willful Institute nurtured members accepted into academies in the Seventh and Eighth Realm!
Cai Bo's carriage came to a stop before a side entrance.
The door opened for her and she walked down. Other carriages opened showing elders that filed behind her as they walked up to the side entrance.
The soldiers there had an odd expression but they quickly covered it up, a few checked their tickets and others stood there as back up.
Interesting, they must be wearing some powerful formations to hide their levels and cultivation.
Cai Bo and her party walked into the Battle Arena. With a few directions they were guided to elevators that took them up through the Battle Arena, close to the peak.
***
Domonos and Chonglu were in the operations center of the Battle Arena. From here they could coordinate everything happening in the city and in the arenas. It allowed them to communicate with the higher ups and be close at hand if they were needed for big decisions.
"I'll have to thank your soldiers and medics for once again refereeing the matches," Chonglu said.
"From the last fighting competition we were able to get a lot of good new recruits and turn them into soldiers. My people use your training facilities all the time. Aren't we both from the same place?" Domonos smiled.
"I guess you are right! I was overthinking things. How is the security in the city?"
"We are operating the same way we did last year. But, now we have more police officers. So it takes the burden off my sergeants. My soldiers are good at fighting. But they are not police officers. Thankfully there were no issues last year. I feel better having more cops and just backing them up with my soldiers."
"Any major issues?"
"Just some local fights and brawls, nothing much, just a few warnings so far. Things will probably heat up in the coming days as people win and lose. With the associations being so close and the high profile sects and figures here. Most people are calmer than last year. Don't want to piss of someone that could turn their life into shit."
"Nice way of putting it," Chonglu said. "I remember you being such a nice young boy."
"You remember me being a training fanatic who was way too arrogant because of his father's position."
"Well, not anymore."
"Yes, that Young Master Domonos doesn't have a place in this new world. While I hate the Willful Institute, it is because of them that I learned the realities of the world and I understood just what Alva was offering me. If I hadn’t lost it all, then I would have looked down on Alva."
"The Willful Institute pricks are here." Dominik Zukal said.
"Such a professional Lieutenant Colonel," Domonos said dryly.
"Not going to compliment the enemy. I'll understand them, respect them, but ain't gonna compliment them."
"He even thinks like me, its weird.”.
Zukal rolled his eyes heavily and went back to reviewing what was happening across Vuzgal.
Domonos activated his sound transmission device, listening to the message.
"Erik and Rugrat are on their way. I'll go and organize things on the ground and receive them."
"I'll see you in the box," Chonglu checked the screens that showed all of the fighters that had qualified to participate in the competition. "Thankfully we have extra arenas. Why are there so many fighting fanatics out there?"
****
"The Willful Institute is reinforcing Elder Mendes' Meokar City. They have brought forces from the Fourth Realm. I have sent word out to the rest of the guild and they are mobilizing. Command units from the Dragon Regiment have reached us and are organizing those at different rally points. I hope you have some savings, we have people from across the Realms that have come to participate."
Jasper's sound transmission ended and Blaze lowered his arm. He looked at the group behind him.
The branch leaders and all of the competitors from the guild were there.
He looked at Kim Cheol and his heavy armored juniors, Joan with her bow and light armor, Stephan and the mages, Lin Lei and her assassins were talking lazily and tossing their weapons around. Emilia and her Paladins were next to Kim Cheol and his people, checking one another's armor. Derrick was drinking tea, though it wouldn't have been strange if he were drinking alcohol given the lazy expression on his face.
He pulled out reports and started to study them, jotting down notes on a different pad of paper.
They’ve all matured since last year. Instead of just worrying about their own strength, they took on others, and taught them what they knew. Instead of just being the strongest members of the guild, they are real leaders. Even Derrick pays attention to the operations of his guild branches. This fighting has brought everyone together more than before.
"Alright, let’s head to the competition," Blaze's voice carried through the courtyard.
Everyone did their last checks and pulled out their mounts. They had no set mounts, they had all kinds of beasts. Most of them came from Alva. As time went on, more people went for 'advanced training' with Alva.
All of their gear was among the best that one could get. They had adventured across the Fourth and Fifth Realms, carrying out missions and gathering wealth. Fighters were well paid and the Adventurer's Guild had more quests than they had people to carry them out.
Once they got to Vuzgal, there were many people between the levels of thirty and forty. Those closer to fifty were harder to find. They might never make it into the academies but they could make something for themselves in the fourth realm.
It also allowed them to gather a number of people that were able to get into the fifth realm and carry out jobs.
Blaze waved his hand, opening his beast storage crate.
A massive beast that had a body as long as a carriage appeared. Her tail was as long as her body, showing rocky spikes. Her skin was dull black armor plates covered with natural magical runes that sparked with white light.
She looked around lazily, letting out a bayying cry.
"You've been sleeping for the last three days Bassilla!" Blaze pulled out a metal monster core.
Her eyes, which were filled with complaint, turned to excitement as she shook her tail, making her entire body shake as her tongue hung out of her mouth, drool falling down her chin.
What am I going to do with you?
"Sit."
The ground shook as she sat down. Her tail left scratches on the stone ground as it moved back and forth. She was taller than Blaze now. But she still had those puppy eyes.
Blaze reached forward and she leaned.
"Sit!"
She planted her butt on the ground, looking offended.
Blaze held the treat for a few more seconds and tossed the monster core.
She reached out her neck and c
runched down on the monster core. It only lasted a few seconds before she swallowed, looking at Blaze.
"Come on, we have work to do."
She rested on all of her limbs and shook herself. Just being around her, one could feel the power stored in her body.
Blaze jumped up on her back. The rest of his group got mounted up. Kim Cheol grabbed the flag of the Adventurer's Guild and raised it high.
"Lets go!"
The gates to the guild opened, Kim Cheol was in the lead as the rest of the guild followed. They made a grand sight on their beasts. They all wore the Adventurer's Guild emblem on their chest as people moved to the sides of the road.
Other guilds opened their gates and marched out. Blaze nodded to some of the leaders there.
They made a powerful procession through Vuzgal, their destination the Battle Arena.
I wonder what this year will bring.
***
Erik and Rugrat rode in a carriage to the Battle Arena. They stepped out, surrounded by members of the special teams and the Vuzgal Defense Force. No one dared to approach them as they wore their masks and cloaks hiding their true identities.
Olivia watched the procession through her transmission device.
"They're here," she said to Nadia Shriver, the temporary branch head who had turned into the true branch head in the last few months with the support of Elder Lu.
"It has been a long time since I last saw them," Elder Lu said beside Nadia. He was holding the hand of his wife, adoration in his eyes.
She patted his hand and smiled back at him.
It wasn't long till the helmeted bodyguards appeared, before Erik and Rugrat.
Olivia looked at them.
They never show up in public without masks and they hide their cultivation deep. Is it really them? They could have been switched out.
The two men didn't move to their seats and instead spread out to talk to different people.
"Elder Lu, this must be Lady Lu! I have heard a lot about you," The shorter masked man said.
"Erik, I believe?" She reached out her hand.
"The one and only," He shook her hand. "I see that the pill worked. If you have some time, please come and see me after all of this. I would like to assess you personally. It might not be anything more than what other healers have said, but I'd like to give it a shot if possible?"
She looked to Elder Lu and then Erik.
"I'm not sure how much it will do. I don't want to waste your time. But, I know it would put my husband's mind at ease."
"I took an oath to help others. If I didn't try, then I would be going back on my values."
"Thank you, Erik," Elder Lu said.
"You have done so much for us and the Blue Lotus has always been kind. We've had some issues in the past, but that was the past."
Olivia tightened up, remembering the withdrawal from Tareng to Vuzgal.
"Miss Shriver, I hear that congratulations are in order! You have become the official head of the Vuzgal branch! Your auctions are legendary across the Fourth Realm!"
"Vuzgal has become a truly diverse city, one of the pillars of the Fourth Realm. It would be foolish not to develop in step with you! We might get left in the dust otherwise!"
They laughed as Erik looked to Olivia.
"Commander Gray, you have become stronger since I last saw you. It is good to see you healthy and well. I hope that we can put the past behind us." He held out his hand again.
Olivia had wanted to hear those words for so long. Now that she did, she was thrown off. She had seen this in her mind so many times, but now it was here.
"Thank you, Lord West," She clasped his hand and bowed her head.
"You were trying to do your best in a shitty situation. I should have explained things more to you all instead of keeping it secret. The Ten Realms makes it hard to trust others. Thankfully, I have come to trust the Blue Lotus deeply."
"While the Blue Lotus is a neutral association, with business we will return trust with trust." Elder Lu said.
What he says is true, but if another power comes here to fight Vuzgal and doesn't threaten the Blue Lotus and its operations, then by our code there is nothing that can be done.
"I understand and thank you for everything." Erik's words lingered before he cleared his throat.
"I hope we can talk later, but I have to do the rounds to make. It has been some time since I saw a lot of the people here."
***
Cai Bo watched the City Lords as they arrived.
"Those are the leaders of the different associations. Lord West is close to the Alchemist Association, Lord Rodriguez is close to the Crafter's Association and they are both patrons of the Fighter’s Association and Blue Lotus. It's said that they got personal lessons from Klaus the branch head of the Fighter's Association. Elder Kostic said as Lord Rodriguez and Klaus bear-hugged one another, chuckling and patting each other's backs. Klaus introduced his people cheerfully.
"They are both fighters and reported crafters. Rodriguez is a smith and West is an Alchemist, a direct disciple of Zen Hei one of the former Pill heads of the Third Realm. Zen Hei has since reached master level in alchemy and has ascended to the Seventh Realm to teach the younger generation. West has an alchemy student that has never been seen in Vuzgal. She is supposedly at the Expert level." Low Elder Kostic stealthily pinched his grand niece's side, making her pay attention as well.
Two men walked in wearing different armors and emblems.
"Those two men are from the Silver Dragons Guild and Adventurer's Guild. They had tensions last year at the fighting competition, but now many say that they are brother guilds. They share contracts with one another and have become a powerful force in Vuzgal. Other smaller guilds are allied with them to get their protection and connections. They carry out normal mercenary tasks."
Adventurer's Guild? That sounds familiar. Cai Bo thought to herself
A few moments later another man and his wife appeared.
"That is acting city lord Hiao Xen. In a rare display of gratitude, the Blue Lotus and the Lords of Vuzgal reached an agreement, lending him to Vuzgal. Through him Vuzgal has become what it is now. Those three ladies, that is Tan Xue the head of the Vuzgal Academy an expert level smith. Qin the department head of the formation masters and her friend Julilah. They are both supposed to be formation masters of the expert level. Behind them are the other department heads and some of the experts from the Academy. Based on what I have learned there are close to one hundred experts in different crafts that are in the Vuzgal Academy, learning or teaching."
"Interesting, how were they able to attract them?"
"We are not sure where most of them came from, the Ten Realms being as large as it is. Some were hired, others were groomed. Vuzgal has the highest density of expert crafters in the Fourth Realm. One expert crafter from the Blue Lotus tried to use her position to gain power on her side and force the lords into submission. I hear that she is now a teacher and that the Blue Lotus reprimanded her.
“Seeing that it was a fair place and that expert level crafters wouldn't be able to play games here, other crafters started to come. Most are unaffiliated and just looking for a place to carry out their experiments. Here they have workshops, materials, entertainment and a platform to discuss with others in their field."
Well developed, the neutrality of it all has made it a haven for many.
"Those two men, they are the core power of Vuzgal," Lower Elder Kostic pointed to two men that were talking to one another off to the side. "Chonglu, he is the current head of the Battle Arena. His wife is a high up member of the Fighter's Association and he is possibly being groomed to be the next Acting City Lord. The younger looking man, he is Domonos," Kostic pinched Mercy again, making her pout slightly but hid it.
"Colonel Domonos Silaz commands the Dragon Regiment, supposedly seven thousand strong. The soldiers that we see in this very city."
Mercy shifted and narrowed her eyes. Cai Bo ignored it as her eyes swept t
he box, memorizing the faces.
"This Domonos, he must be quite the genius to achieve a high level of cultivation at his age," Cai Bo said. He must have made several breakthroughs as a teenager into his young adult life to remain looking so young. He must be two or three times as old as he looks to be the head of Vuzgal's forces.
"Elder Cai, from our information, we believe that he is less than thirty years old," Lower Elder Kostic said awkwardly.
"Julilah and Qin?"
"Younger still.Expert Qin Silaz is Domonos Silaz's younger sister."
"The Silaz family must have a high standing in Vuzgal."
Lower Elder Kostic coughed awkwardly.
"Expert Silaz spends her days teaching or locked in her workshop. Colonel Silaz spends all his time training his soldiers. They do not have a family backing them. Few people that are part of Vuzgal have clans. They are frowned upon."
"Why? Clans can create greater competition and the strongest may stand at the top," Cai Bo gave Kostic a sharp look.
"They believe that it only leads to internal strength. They have a philosophy, 'best person for the job'. Regardless of one's strength or position, whoever is the best person at the job will get it. No clans or forces have been able to bend or break this rule. Some that tried to use their familial connections were found out and all of those that were linked to the issue were fired from their positions, never to be hired by Vuzgal again."
"Not based on strength or connections? How were they able to get this high? Everything in the Ten Realms relies on strength."
"Their ability to negotiate and pull people into alliances is powerful. They have such a small army and train them so much. They proudly call themselves soldiers. They have none of the individuality of warriors. They work in groups to achieve results instead of fighting on their own and unleashing their own power. Military contribution points for killing the enemy, they have no such thing!"
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